Remember that dominos scene in the movie ‘Phir Hera Pheri’? Or the Mountain Dew scene in ‘Zindagi na Milegi Dobara’?

While in the first movie, Paresh Rawal carries the Domino’s Pizza box throughout the scene and the scene ends with him plugging in the 30 minute delivery or free promise of the brand.

On the other hand, Hrithik Roshan simply signs a form, takes a gulp from a bottle of Mountain Dew and says to his 2 friends – I will see you outside. The bottle is visible for barely a second or two.

Which product placement do you think would be more effective?

If your answer is Domino’s, your view would be in line with the overriding belief of product placement practitioners. And you would be wrong!

In reality, it’s the more subtle the placement, the more effective it would be.

Yes, more prominent placement can lead to more recognition and recall of the brand, but it doesn’t lead to better sales.

This is borne out by a study done in the USA on product placements done in a hit comedy sitcom Seinfeld.

Shoppers who had watched the sitcom were observed. And it turned out that the more prominent brands on the series led to 27% of the audience buying them. While the subtly placed brands ended up being bought by 47% of the audience.

Surprised? Don’t be. This stems from the basic human truth – nobody likes to be sold to. And the moment we spot an overt effort to sell to us, we switch off our mind.

Do tell me your views in the comments.